But he and other members of Labor's left faction largely toed the party line after the Government's expert panel on asylum seekers recommended the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres be reopened.

However at the time he warned he would not allow the centres to be run like "prison camps".

"The expert panel didn't recommend that we put people in tents for extended periods of time where their health was in danger, where they were in danger of electrocution because of the humidity and unsafe electrical connections," he said.

"These are issues that we have to deal with in the context of the expert panel approach. And the expert panel fundamentally argued for a regional framework."

He says the Government needs to revisit and do an audit of all the expert panel's recommendations.

'Repulsive and repressive'

His comments have been echoed by Liberal backbencher Judi Moylan, another fierce opponent of offshore processing.

"It's expensive, it's repulsive and it's repressive," she said.

She says some recommendations of the panel have been ignored and believes not enough has done enough to set up agreements on asylum seekers with other countries in the region.

"We've seen Government take the easy option. It's a matter of putting these people out of sight, out of mind," she said.

Opposition Customs spokesman Michael Keenan says the Immigration Department's submission has embarrassed the Government, though he wants more asylum seekers sent to Manus Island.

"Clearly the conditions are quite difficult. Now that is the nature of a temporary centre," he said.

Construction of a permanent facility is due to begin in July and take about six months.